


Keep You With Me

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Hufflepuff, One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-23
Updated: 2013-10-23
Packaged: 2017-12-30 05:56:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1014935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Salazar?" Helga whispered.<br/>"Hmm?" Salazar hummed against her neck, his lips pressed to her soft skin.<br/>"You never answered my question."<br/>Slowly, Salazar raised his head.<br/>"My intent is what you asked for, right?" Helga nodded. "My intent is to tell Godric he isn't allowed to stare at you in the halls. And to tell Rowena to stop trying to find you a suitor. To tell the students to stop gossiping about romance between us. I intend to keep you with me, Miss Hufflepuff, for as long as you will allow."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keep You With Me

**Author's Note:**

> Not my best work, but hey. My first time posting here. Let me know what you think.

Helga Hufflepuff walked briskly through Hogwarts, marching past students and professors. Rage bubbled inside her, her small hands clenched into fists at her sides. She felt ignored, forgotten, and hurt, and there was no undoing it now.  
"Salazar!" She rumbled, forcing her way past a very confused house elf as she stormed into the dungeons. Her voice continued to echo through the dank space as she moved deeper into the darkness. Water droplets splashed down from above her, falling into her hair and onto her shoulders. She grumbled at the inconvenience.  
"Salazar!" She called again, her voice sharper than before. Although half the school knew where she was, no one came to help her find her target. Anyone who had seen Helga lose her temper knew to stay well out of her way.  
Once, during the first year the school had been opened, Godric had decided to allow his students to pull a prank on hers, and did they ever. Her pour children were choking up slugs left and right, were perpetually lost in the halls they knew so well, and a number of other undesirable things. Helga, being protective as she was, ran strait to Godric. He laughed off her concern, telling her that a little play fighting was good for her students docile spirits. A bellow of rage could be heard echoing through the halls.  
"Docile?!" Helga had screamed. Salazar and Rowena had quickly apparated to Helga's, what they assumed to be, aid. They had never expected to be rescuing the valiant Godric from a wand waving Helga. It had taken exactly five hours and twenty- three minutes to settle Helga down enough to get her to talk to Rowena.  
"Oh, dear." Rowena had gasped, concerned. "That's dreadful. You have my word, Dearest, that it will never occur again. I'll have my students write something up, make everyone sign. Or maybe we'll speak an oath. No, no, maybe-" Helga raised her hand.  
"Just have them fix my Darlings, will you? They must be so worried. I shouldn't have left them. I'm sorry, Rowena, tell Godric that for me. I'm afraid I just can't face him now." Helga had rushed off to her students, her calm nature restored. But no one had dared cross her since.  
It stood to reason that Salazar was hiding deep in the dungeons. He had witnessed Helga's wrath more than once for himself.  
Helga did indeed find him, hidden in his study. He was leaning precariously over a cauldron when Helga opened the door. Salazar couldn't have been more surprised. His door was enchanted, locked a thousand times over to prevent things like this.  
His shock was never allowed to reach his face, and he continued to stir his potion, carefully adding ingredients.  
"Hello Helga. Something wrong?" Salazar knew he was only going to provoke her, but he always found Helga slightly amusing when she was angry. Her curvy body seemed to radiate heat, her eyes flashing up at him as she stomped her foot and yelled with all her might.  
"Is something wrong?" She yelled, half delirious. "Why yes, Salazar, something is very wrong!"  
"Care to tell me about it while you watch this for me?" He pointed to his bubbling cauldron. "I'm in need of a frogs tongue, but I'm afraid I've left it too far away."  
Helga looked ready to burst.  
"Salazar! How could you let your students do that? My little lambs are so scared! This is just like before, with Godric. You promised me, Salazar. You promised your students would look after mine. That they would keep them out of harms way when necessary. Are you going to forget that promise Salazar? You can, I'll let you. But I won’t forgive you." Her voice was quiet, almost conversational, but there was an edge to it that made Salazar's skin crawl.  
"I did not forget my promise, nor do I intend to. My students merely got carried away." "You call placing poisonous snakes in the greenhouses 'carried away'? Salazar, someone could have died." Helga's voice broke, and for the first time since she entered the room, Salazar looked up at her.  
Her hair was a frizzy tangle, swept atop her head in a hurry. The front of her yellow dress was muddied; her face and arms were scratched. She looked like a madwoman.  
"Oh, please. You wouldn't have let that happen. Now run along. I have better things to do than coddle your silly concerns." Salazar turned back to his table, now ignoring Helga.  
Once his back was turned, Helga's face had dropped. Had it been one of his students bitten by that snake, he would have been blood thirsty. All she had been after was an apology.

__

Once safely outside of the dungeons and making her way towards the Ravenclaw common room, Helga began to cry. Had she really been asking too much of Salazar? She knew when se had timidly asked him, on the same night of the incident with Godric's students, that it would go against his nature at times to guard her children, but she had though he might just care enough for her, that their friendship was strong enough, to make him consider it.  
Her chest aching with withheld sobs, she let herself into Rowena's rooms, locking the door safely behind her. She huffed across the room and threw herself on the bed, all dignity forgotten. Rowena turned to her friend and smiled sympathetically.  
"I take it didn't go so well?" Rowena asked, sitting lightly on the edge of her bed and stroking Helga's flaxen hair.  
"No, it did not." Helga said, her voice muffled by the pillow she had promptly buried her face in.  
"Did you remind him of the promise he made you?"  
"Yes, I did, but he just-" Helga's voice broke again, and she buried herself further into the pillow, considering staying there forever.  
"He couldn't have been that bad, Helga." Rowena said, starting to comb through Helga's knotted hair.  
Helga just sobbed in reply. Rowena could tell her friend was tiring, and she made her drink a sleeping draught.  
Rowena stood and called for her owl. Writing a note carefully on a piece of parchment, she attached it to the bird and sent it to find Salazar. She was going to have a word with the stubborn man. 

__

Salazar walked with a sense of dread. He had received Rowena's owl stating her was to meet her in the Great Hall, and he had almost ignored it. She couldn't just summon him because Helga was upset, not when it wasn't really his fault. But after a moment he, begrudgingly, noted it was, in fact, his fault. He had made her a promise, and promise he had promptly disregarded, and now she and possibly her students were hurt. Salazar could call her an old bat all he wanted, but he could never call her disloyal or unworthy of his trust and friendship.  
So the tall man had left his work and come to Rowena, allowing her to lecture him on his inability to just console Helga and say he would punish his students. She went on for wht seemed like hours, making point after point, hitting home with each and every detail.  
"Rowena." Salazar said, stopping her. "Where is she?"  
Rowena's cheeks flushed, irritated that her friend was almost trying to shut her up.  
"Salazar, you can't-"  
"I know. I want to," Salazar sighed. "I want to speak with her privately about this. You're right. I'm not wrong."  
Rowena smiled. "Good. She's in her common room, which I'm assuming you haven't been bothered to find yet. I'll take you."  
And with that, Rowena started to walk away. Salazar followed quickly, almost losing sight of her once as she turned corner after corner, only to stop in front of barrels of vinegar near the kitchen.  
"Why did you lead me around in circles if we were only going to the kitchen, Rowena?" Salazar asked.  
"Because, you deserved it. Now come on." Rowena tapped a barrel in a simple little pattern, and it swung open.  
The usually dignified woman crawled inside, and Salazar was forced to follow suit.  
Once through the small tunnel, he fell into the most welcoming room he had even laid eyes on.  
A fireplace was lit in the corner, casting a warm glow over rugs and dark cherry tables. Plants lined the windows, which ran along the top on the room. Some of the plants were rather obviously from the greenhouses, others seemed rarer, almost like Helga tucked them here where she could watch over their usage. Two students, who had been seated by the fire, quickly looked up at Salazar warily. He had a regrettably small amount of interaction with Helga's students, and they usually stayed far from him.  
"Come on, Salazar." Rowena said. Without Salazar noticing, she had crossed the room and was walking up a flight of stairs on the right side of the room. Pulling himself together, Salazar followed.  
Once he was up the stairs, Rowena lead him down a short hall that ended with a single door.  
"Well," She said, motioning him on. "I'm not going with you. I had to have Godric carry her here after I put her to sleep. She’s your job now." And just like that, Rowena disappeared.  
"Damn it." Salazar muttered as he opened the door. He had to duck to enter the room, but once inside, he felt a wave of calm wash over him. Something he hadn’t felt in quite some time.  
"Salazar?" Helga whispered, lifting her head from her pillow. "What are you doing here?"  
"I, um." Salazar stood in the doorway, his voice somehow gone.  
"You’re sorry?" Helga asked, and he nodded.  
"Fine." She sighed, dragging herself from her bed.  
Salazar's eyes lingered on her frame as she untangled herself from her sheets.  
"What?" She asked, brushing her hair, which he noticed was smoother now, out of her face. Without thinking, Salazar stepped forward and grabbed her hand, kissing her knuckles.  
Her eyes widened, but she didn't pull away. Salazar took that as a good sign, and he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, then her nose.  
This was so blatantly out of character for him, Helga was unsure of how to respond. Although she couldn't say she was unsure of her feelings towards him.  
"Salazar," She whispered again, and her breath washed over his face.  
This, it seemed, was his undoing. Without a second thought, her gripped her about the waist and kissed her, her taste overwhelming his senses. Soon, his hands began to roam, and he felt Helga smile against his lips as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, slipping her fingers into his hair and tugging gently.  
Salazar couldn't seem to contain the small sound he made in the back of his throat. He kissed her harder, pulling her body tighter to his. Eventually, he couldn’t get her any closer, and he lifted her in his arms, making her laugh.  
"Salazar," She giggled, resting her forehead to his. He closed his eyes and set her down, allowing her to step away from him.  
Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were swollen. She looked too beautiful for words.  
"I," He started, only to be interrupted.  
"Don't say anything yet. Let me say something first." She looked up at him, crossing her arms. She seemed cold and distant for someone who had just been allowing him to behave as he had.  
"I know you'll say something about regretting that and escape as quickly as you can, so I'll make this brief. I don't regret that at all. Nor will I. You are an arrogant arse. I've let this happen to me before, getting swept up in some man's little game, and it wont happen again. So I'm only saying this to you once, Slytherin. What is your intent?"  
Salazar was speechless. Not only from the pounding in his chest, or the slight cinnamon taste she had left in his mouth, or the fact that he could still feel exactly where her lips had been. She was questioning him. She though he was so vile he would kiss her and leave, as if she was worthless to him, like some wench. This wonderful, strong, capable woman was afraid he was going to hurt her.  
"Oh, Helga, Love. Come here." She shook her head no, and Salazar stepped to her.  
"Look at me, Darling, please?" Her eyes peeked out from behind her hair, and he caught her chin in his fingers. "Do you really doubt me so much that you think I'm going to use you? You, of all people."  
He kissed her again, softer this time.  
"You’re the most beautiful woman I've even known."  
Helga sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. Could she really, truly trust him? He had promised to look after her students and hadn't. That was the only promise he'd made her that he had ever broken, but wasn’t one mistake enough to rationalize turning him down? Or was she jumping to conclusions? Did Salazar truly mean no harm?  
Helga's thoughts raced around her head. His scent was making it hard to concentrate. He smelled like pine and mint, like the last snowfall before spring. And, Merlin, did she miss that way it felt when he had kissed her. Her whole being had been burning. She couldn’t even be bothered to stop his hands from wandering like a school boys. She had almost pushed him away, but then he had picked her up, and he was so much stronger than she had thought.  
But was one slightly panicked moment between them enough to make her trust him with everything? Was it enough for him to hold her the way her was, kissing her hair and neck while she though and pondered. Would that be enough when he got angry with her and argued with Godric for hours?  
"Salazar?" Helga whispered.  
"Hmm?" Salazar hummed against her neck, his lips pressed to her soft skin.  
"You never answered my question."  
Slowly, Salazar raised his head.  
"My intent is what you asked for, right?" Helga nodded. "My intent is to tell Godric he isn't allowed to stare at you in the halls. And to tell Rowena to stop trying to find you a suitor. To tell the students to stop gossiping about romance between us. I intend to keep you with me, Miss Hufflepuff, for as long as you will allow."  
Helga's cheeks flushed, and before Salazar could draw a breath, she kissed him soundly, grasping his shirtfront in her fists.  
"I intend to stay for as long as you're willing to put up with me, Salazar, and knowing you, that will be a good long while."


End file.
